Hotels

Category Archives for Hotels.

A bit of news from Marriott

marriott hotel
Jul 19 2006

Following on Westin’s move, Marriott announced today that it is going smoke-free in all of the Company’s lodging brands in the United States and Canada will become 100 percent smoke-free, beginning in September. So they’ve taken an idea pioneered elsewhere but expanded it beyond what its competitors are already offering — smokefree not just in a single brand but across brands. Bad for smokers, perhaps, and those renting rooms to throw parties (!) but good for most travelers whose worst nightmare is getting checked into a smoking room. Update: HotelChatter has more: At first, this sounds a little more drastic than it is since 90 percent Marriott’s guest rooms were already non-smoking. But the hotel chain goes one step further banning smoking from public spaces that includes restaurants, bars, meeting rooms and employee work areas.…

Continue Reading »

Marriott is ramping up their airline checkin stations quickly

marriott hotel
Jun 27 2006

Marriott is ramping up their checkin kiosks from 32 properties now to 150 within two weeks. All Marriott and Renaissance properties are targeted to have the machines by the end of September. The kiosks will have the functionality to print airline boarding passes, a nice feature indeed. Marriott is actually a bit behind the curve on this one, Hilton announced the capability of their kiosks to print boarding passes back in April, but Marriott looks like it will jump ahead of its competitors with the ubiquity of the feature across two of its brands within a few months. This is one of the easy no-brainers of the hotel industry. If done right the cost to set up the machines with internet connectivity and a printer should be low, and it’s a major convenience. But in…

Continue Reading »

30% Bonus on Transfers from Marriott to British Airways

marriott hotel
May 31 2006

British Airways is offering a 30% bonus on miles when transferring points from Marriott Rewards by July 20. For those who aren’t already British Airways Executive Club members — and membership normally requires booking a full fare coach ticket or more — BA is offering accounts via this promotion as well (apparently without any requirement to transfer points from Marriott, so anyone wanting a BA account this is a good opportunity to get one).(Hat tip to Free Frequent Flyer Miles.)

Continue Reading »

Marriott to Display “All-In” Pricing

marriott hotel
Mar 21 2006

Hotel Hotsheet reports that Marriott will roll out “Total Trip Pricing” — a commitment to show “all in” costs for their hotel rooms on their website. In other words, taxes, surcharges, and resort fees will be fully disclosed. Small steps towards a better world…

Continue Reading »

Improved Marriott Visa

marriott hotel
Feb 25 2006

There’s a new co-branded Marriott Visa with some pretty good benefits for folks who regularly stay at Marriott Properties. The 15,000 bonus points with first purchase is pretty standard. So is a free night certificate that comes with the card — though in the past I believe the certificate was good on properties up through category 4 and this says good through category 5. This card comes with the free night certificate once a year rather than just when first getting the card. The biggest changes with this card are in the points-earning structure and the way that elite status comes with the card. Earn 5 points for every $1 spent at over 2,600 Marriott locations. Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on airline, dining and rental car purchases as well as 1 point…

Continue Reading »

Marriott’s MegaBonus Returns in February

marriott hotel
Jan 15 2006

Marriott’s ‘MegaBonus’ returns from February 15 through May 15. You must register to find out which bonus you’re targeted for. The possibilities: MGS61 – Earn 2,500 points/stay, beginning with 2nd stay, up to 10,000 MGS62 – Earn 5,000 points every 3rd stay, up to 25,000 pts MGS63 – Earn 10,000 points every 3rd stay, up to 30,000 pts MGS64 – Earn 25,000 points for staying 15 nights or more MGS65 – Earn 35,000 points for staying 20 nights or more (Hat tip to Flyertalk.) Since I’m not a Marriott regular I’ve been assigned 2500 bonus points per stay beginning with the second stay.

Continue Reading »

Boca Raton Renaissance

marriott hotel
Dec 22 2005

I spent a long weekend at the Renaissance hotel in Boca Raton. I’ve stayed here before, it’s the most convenient hotel to my grandparents’ place in Boca. It’s also the only 4* property in the relevant zone on Priceline and I managed to score the place for $55 — for a weekend in December! While it’s mainly geared towards business travelers — the club lounge offers breakfast Monday to Friday and evening hor d’ourves Sunday through Thursday — it’s a nice escape for leisure travel as well. The Renaissance is convenient off of the 95 freeway, all you do is turn onto “Renaissance Way” after exiting Glades Road. When I first stayed at the hotel the street name was “Sheraton Way” giving away the fact that the property used to be a Sheraton. It’s right…

Continue Reading »

Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental

Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental
Oct 23 2005

I’ve been meaning to go to CityZen, the restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental DC, for awhile. I finally gave it a try Friday evening. The food was excellent, though there were some missteps. Valet parking is complimentary. The restaurant validates. They asked for my ticket when I entered, and they returned it to me as I left. The valet walked us the ten feet from the car to the hotel with an umbrella since it was misting. Service was friendly, knowledgeable, and discrete throughout… with one blaring exception. Little things, like replacing my wife’s napking when she got up to use the restroom, make a big impression. The dining room was beautifully-designed but loud, making conversations difficult. The restaurant has an open kitchen, but it isn’t silent or perfectly orchestrated like you’d see at Maestro.…

Continue Reading »

Double Marriott Points

marriott hotel
Sep 18 2005

Marriott is offering double Marriott Rewards points on stays paid with Visa between October 1, 2005 and January 31, 2006 — beginning with your second stay during that period. Registration is required.

Continue Reading »

Hilton Downgrades Instant Gold Members

hilton hotel
Sep 14 2005

Back in April I mentioned (here and here) a promotion code to instantly upgrade your Hilton Hhonors account to Gold status. It’s a code meant for Citibank Chairman’s Card credit card holders, but Hilton apparently made no effort to restrict up front who could use it. It isn’t even just a situation of a secret promo code that got out. I called Hilton one day and the promo code was mentioned in the voice tree without even reference to the Citibank Chairman’s Card. Now, however, Hilton is haphazardly going through their records and demoting the status of people who signed up using the code. I say haphazardly because some people who were eligible for the promotion (they had the Citibank Chairmans Card) were downgraded, and others who were not eligible still retained their status. What’s…

Continue Reading »